In Major League Baseball, there are two types of winning teams. There are teams that can go out and buy the best talent out there (read: Yankees) and simply overpower any team that dares stand in its way. Then, there are teams that do things more tactfully. There are the teams that find prospects that they like and raise them through the farm system until they develop into a primetime player (still on their minor league contract) and get as much as you can out of that player before he gets bought away by the previous teams.Newsflash: The A's are ...
Those not buying into Oakland Athletics pitcher Tommy Milone's dominance on the mound may claim he's lucky—but his consistency proves it's all talent. You've heard the old saying, "It's better to be lucky than good." In baseball, this saying might hold true on one particular pitch in any given moment. The average Joe might get lucky enough to knock one out of the park once in 100 attempts. The same guy might even get lucky enough to dupe a major league batter into swinging and missing at a pitch. Tommy Milone is no average Joe. Likewise, he's not luckily duping ...
The Oakland Athletics are desperate to see production out of the third base position. So desperate that the team is reportedly set to sign veteran Brandon Inge, according to CSNBayArea.com. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Inge he has cleared waivers after being released last week by the Detroit Tigers.So far, in 22 games played, it's been a revolving door at third base, with no one player making a case for himself to take on the full-time starting role. After projected starter Scott Sizemore tore his ACL at the very beginning of spring training, the Athletics have thrown out Eric Sogard, Josh Donaldson and ...
When you look back on the 2012 Oakland A's season, this could be a game that gets remembered. Leading 2-0 with one out in the ninth, the A's surrendered five runs, the last three on a walk-off three run Wilson Betemit home run, and the Baltimore Orioles won the series with a 5-2 comeback win.The loss is all the more disheartening because for eight innings, Bartolo Colon was fantastic again. Aided by a two out RBI double by Yoenis Cespedes in the sixth and a solo home run by Seth Smith in the seventh, Colon appeared on his way to ...
Two days after the Detroit Tigers released long-time third baseman Brandon Inge, the Detroit Free press is reporting he will sign with the Oakland A's.When A's third baseman Scott Sizemore went down for the season, it left a huge hole in the Oakland infield.The Josh Donaldson experiment didn't work out as the backup catcher did not perform well at the hot corner. He had three errors, but his .094 batting average was the real problem.The A's then claimed Luke Hughes off waivers from the Twins. In three games, Hughes is hitting .150 with three errors. The Hughes stats come from ...
The San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A's both have 11 wins to start the 2012 season.Don't let the records fool you. Despite their similar records, these two teams are polar opposites at this point in the season. A'sThe green and gold are definitely exceeding expectations. The question in Oakland is, can the club compete without hitting, and with a pitching staff that has several youngsters that still have a lot to prove?Guys like Tom Milone and Tyson Ross have pitched well, but will they hold up after teams now have them on their radar?Brandon McCarthy will be fine and prove ...
Winding down on the first month of the season, most of the A's top prospects are living up to or exceeding expectations. From Sacramento to Burlington, there are players at all levels who are excelling right now, and others that have gotten off to a slow start.For some players, like A.J. Cole, a slow start was expected because they're still extremely young and will be given a longer time in the minors to develop properly. Others, like Miles Head, were expected to be only solid to above-average players but have shown to be a lot more than that, overshadowing more ...
The Oakland A's are one of the teams that are thankful for the extra wild-card spot in the playoffs.Although they are still long-shots to make the playoffs, a winning start has boosted fans' spirits as the season unfolds.Last season they began the season very similar to this year, by hovering around .500. Their downfall began after they were 27-27.In the following 14 games they lost all but one, including 10 in a row at one point. The season was all but lost after that run.This season they have a couple key pieces that might help them stay strong throughout the season.Bartolo Colon is shaping up to ...
The Oakland Athletics have a glaring hole at third base—one that could be filled effectively by Brandon Inge. The former Detroit Tiger was cut Thursday, ending a 12-year career in the Motor City. Inge is only a .234 career hitter. In nine games this season, he's 2-for-20, and his .100 batting average is well below the Mendoza Line. Still, there's a couple of reasons the A's should take a chance on Inge. The Current Incumbents Aren't Great As of right now, the two players receiving the most repetitions at third base are Eric Sogard and Josh Donaldson. Donaldson is ...
The first step to being successful is getting over .500 and the Oakland Athletics have taken that step. The A's took a 3-1 lead on an Eric Sogard two-run home run and never looked back on Friday night. Josh Reddick added a home run for Oakland and finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI.Brandon McCarthy picked up his first win of the year. He was solid for seven innings allowing two runs while striking out four and issuing three walks. The win gives the A's an 11-10 record and puts them one game over .500 for the first time since May 18, 2011.The A's won ...